Sister Simone Campbell to Present ‘A Nun on the Bus’ at Elmhurst

February 17, 2015 | by the Office of Communications and Public Affairs

In 2010, Sister Simone Campbell came to public attention as the author of the “nuns’ letter,” an argument in support of health-care reform.

As the leader of Nuns on the Bus cross-country tours, she has advocated for immigration reform and defended social programs against proposed cuts.

She will tell her inspiring story of social justice advocacy rooted in faith when she presents A Nun on the Bus on March 5 at Elmhurst College.

Sister Simone Campbell is a religious leader, attorney and poet with extensive experience in public policy and advocacy for systemic change. She has served since 2004 as the executive director of NETWORK, a national Catholic social justice advocacy group that “educates, lobbies and organizes for economic and social transformation.” In Washington, she lobbies on issues of peace-building, immigration reform, health care and economic justice.

During the 2010 congressional debate about health care reform, she wrote the famous “nuns’ letter” in support of reform, and obtained signatures from 59 leaders of Catholic Sisters. The action was cited by many as critically important in passing the Affordable Care Act. In 2013, she was instrumental in organizing a cross-country “Nuns on the Bus” tour to advocate for comprehensive immigration reform.

Campbell has received numerous awards, including a Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award and the Defender of Democracy Award from the international Parliamentarians for Global Action. She has appeared on 60 Minutes, The Colbert Report and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Campbell’s talk will begin at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 5, in Hammerschmidt Memorial Chapel. Campbell will be available to sign books after the lecture, and copies of A Nun on the Bus: How All of Us Can Create Hope, Change and Community and Sister Trouble: The Vatican, the Bishops and theNuns will be available for purchase. Admission is $10 for the general public and free for Elmhurst College students, faculty, staff and alumni. Tickets are available online.